Lynnea

We will be visiting Dresden and would like to drive on the local roads in the Sachsische Schweiz and surrounding area. Can anyone tell me if the roads have wide shoulders? I am not able to drive on roads where there is a sharp drop-off very well. I would like to visit Bad Schandau, Sebnitz, and Neustadt and am concerned especially about that area.

J62

Ingo, our resident Fodors Dresden expert is away on a business trip for a few days. If you don't get answers top the message for yourself Thu or Fri so he'll see it.

J62

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annhig

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Ingo

Thanks J62!

The roads in this area usually don't have sharp drop-offs. Especially not the main roads which you'll take as I assume. Minor roads to small villages *can* have sharp drop-offs, so if you plan to drive some of those you better give me your detailed route for proper advice.

What draws you to Sebnitz and Neustadt? The latter is the town where I grew up, nothing special, and I bet you're only the second or third American tourists there.

TarraTourist

We will be driving in this area in late October. Where do you suggest for a half day's scenic drive, Ingo?

Ingo

Tarra, only driving or do you plan to stop somewhere? Maybe walk an hour? Dining or coffee somewhere? Will you start early or noon/late? Where will you start?

There are so many options. You can easily get a good impression of the area if you drive to Bad Schandau at one side of the river (say B 172) and return on the other side (via Bastei/Lohmen). Driving time from Dresden (round trip) probably 2 hours. But the stops add to the time! And honestly, driving further into the National Park, parking the car there and walking for an hour to a viewing point makes more sense. Especially in Oct - we have a sort of foliage too, unfortunately not much of red colours.

Lynnea

Ingo,
The goal is to visit Bauyzen and Goerlitz, but I would prefer driving backroads. I'm just looking at a Michelin road map (418). The yellow road is designated as an "interregional and less congested road."

If you are familiar with Route 1 in northern California, I can drive for perhaps an hour on it before acrophobia sets in.

TarraTourist

Ingo, we are driving from Prague and staying two nights only in Dresden before going to Berlin. I just thought there might have been an afternoon drive on that one full day that would be nice. We often take picnic things with us and stop to look at scenery or go for a short walk. (Depending on weather).

Ingo

Lynnea - I am not familiar with that route in California. But I am absolutely certain you won't have a problem driving the yellow roads.

One other thought crossed my mind, though: Both Bautzen and Görlitz in one day? And with a detour via Bad Schandau, Sebnitz, Neustadt? My gosh! You'll drive all the time and not see the sights in Bautzen and Görlitz. Well, if you just want to drive around ... it's your trip.

Tarra, I am not sure how to advise you. I understand the desire to picnic while watching beautiful scenery. I do that myself often. On the other hand, one full day in Dresden is really not much. Driving to 'Sächsische Schweiz' in the afternoon will be a hassle. You could easily end up in a traffic jam. In any case it will take a lot of time to get to a place with great views (Bastei e.g. one hour). What if you do that on the drive from Prague to Dresden? You could take the route along the Elbe river valley, through Decin, Bad Schandau, Königstein, Pirna (or on the right bank via Bastei, Lohmen to Pirna). From Pirna I recommend to take the minor roads on the right bank via Pillnitz, crossing the Blue Wonder bridge, driving along the river into the old town (depending on where your hotel is located) - it is much more beautiful than the main road B 172.

There are plenty of beautiful places in Dresden itself or in the outskirts where you can have picnic with a view. One of my favourite places is Schloss Albrechtsberg with terraces and park above the river (tram 11, stop 'Elbschlösser'). Adjacent are two other castles: Lingnerschloss (under reconstruction) and Schloss Eckberg - a five star hotel with beautiful garden/park, accessible for non-residents, too. Another suggestion is Pillnitz where you find the beautiful grounds of the Palace and the vineyards above along the river.

Ingo

Lynnea

Thanks for the information, Ingo. BTW, I wasn't planning a one day driving marathon.

annhig

hi again, Ingo,

thanks for the ideas about what to see on the way from Dresden to Prague. we would probably be doing this on the last day of our trip, which is coming along nicely now.

I do have the following questions:

Could we do all this in one day, or allow longer?

if we only had one day, which sights would you pick?

is 3 nights/2 days, long enough for Dresden?

What would you aim to see if that was all the time you had?

we will be driving to Dreden from Wroclov - what would you look out for on the way?

many thanks,

regards, ann

Ingo

Lynn - good to know. Enjoy the drive!

Ann - driving Wroclaw to Dresden takes about 3 hours. Some towns of interest along the route are: Boleslawiec/Bunzlau, famous for its blue pottery, Görlitz, Bautzen. Görlitz is the most beautiful of them (and you can buy the Bunzlau pottery there, too). Two or three hours there would be perfect. Not that you'd have seen everything of Görlitz in that short amount of time ...

Three nights are ok for Dresden. It depends on how deep you want to dig and if you want to make an excursion to Meissen, Moritzburg, wine tasting in Radebeul, a steam train or paddle steamboat ride ... etc.

If I had two full days in Dresden - and don't want to make an excursion as mentioned above - I'd want to see the following (but it depends on YOUR interests, of course, what YOU would do!):
- Zwinger, walk along the roofs, see Picture Gallery Old Masters and Porcelain collection, short look at the Armoury
- Tour the Semper Opera house (prefer to attend a performance in the evening!)
- See the collections in the Royal Palace (Historic Green Vault and New Green Vault) and climb the tower of the Palace for the views
- attend the free organ recital in the Catholic Cathedral at 11.30 am on Wed and Sat/go and see the interior of this church otherwise
- see the Procession of Princes mural and the former stables in the backyard (a ten-minute thing)
- attend the noon service with organ play at the Frauenkirche (30 minutes)
- walk along Brühl's terrace (15 minutes), have a coffee or ice cream/lunch there
- walk across Augustus bridge and explore the New Town/Neustadt (from Golden Horseman statue along that boulevard, doing some (window) shopping, Baroque Königstrasse, Albertplatz square, the vibrant nightlife quarter, dairy shop "Pfund's Molkerei&quot
- do that Pillnitz Palace/steamboat ride combination that we talked about
- explore the area around the Blue Wonder Bridge (19th century residential area) with the funicular and the suspension railway to the top of the hills, coffee at Luisenhof restaurant's terrace.

In 'Sächsische Schweiz' the top sights are Königstein fortress, the Bastei rock viewing point, picturesque villages like Rathen, Hinterhermsdorf, a gondola ride 'Hintere Schleuse', a steamboat ride (again ), all sorts of activities (hiking, biking, free climbing, kayaking) in the nature. Bad Schandau is IMO the most appealing small town for a stay. Btw, today opened a five star hotel there - right by the riverfront with excellent spa and inexpensive. Just FYI, if you book before 31 March 2008 you still get special opening rates for the main season from 1 May 2008 on. For example, a double incl. breakfast and river view is 104 to 128 Euro (balcony +10 Euro). A steal! Rooms facing the Atrium or the Market Square (the latter not recommended, can be noisy) are even cheaper. If you can squeeze in one night between Dresden and Prague then I highly recommend you take this opportunity.

Wow, that was long, even for me. You see, I get carried away when talking about my home region ;-)

Ingo

annhig

hi, ingo,

could you tell me the name of this hotel? it sounds great for our last night, if we end up with a spare!

and thanks so much for all the other info. I'll have to get out my maps and get planning in earnest.

regards, ann

Ingo

LOL, how could I forget the link? Here it comes:

www.elbresidenz-bad-schandau.de

annhig

hi, ingo,

thanks for that. It does look lovely. It's definitely going on my "maybe" list, but a drive through that area on the way back to Prague is a definite "definite"

regards, ann